Asif wants hearing to be pushed back

Mohammad Asif sought postponement of the August 30 date for him to appear before the drugs tribunal of the IPL for a preliminary hearing on his dope flunk.

Written by Press Trust of India

Read Time: 2 mins

Karachi:

Disgraced Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif on Thursday sought postponement of the August 30 date for him to appear before the drugs tribunal of the Indian Premier League for a preliminary hearing on his dope flunk.

Asif's lawyer, Shahid Karim said his client sought a mid September date as the pacer would not be able to reach India by Saturday as certain formalities are yet to be completed.

"We have been given a tentative date by IPL. They want us to come to India on August 30 but I have replied to them that such a date wasn't possible," Karim told PTI.

"There are certain formalities to be completed before going to India to appear before the tribunal. They should fix the date by middle of September," Karim said without explaining the formalities.

Asif had asked for a hearing from the IPL tribunal after his 'A' and 'B samples, despite coming positive for steroid nandrolone, produced different results in terms of amount of the banned substance.

The pacer's 'B' sample had also tested positive for nandrolone in a WADA-accredited laboratory in Switzerland but the nanogram traces in his urine sample was 5.4, while in the test conducted by IPL, the nanogram traces came at 6.2.

Karim expressed confidence that Asif would be able to prove his innocence when the IPL tribunal hearing is held.

"The report (from Switzerland) has just come in and we are analyzing it ... the expert Dr. Graham is going through the report.

"There was a major difference in the two results. There was a deviation which has certain concoctions which we can't divulge now, but will do in due course of time," he said.

He also hinted that the IPL might not have followed some regulations while conducting the dope tests.